


Ouranos

by Enchantable



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Daddy Issues, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-04-23 04:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19143787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantable/pseuds/Enchantable
Summary: “Stop,” Michael says and turns back to his father, “do it, I killed them.”His father looks at him steadily and somehow this is worse.“Come on,” he says, “I killed mom. I killed everyone. I didn’t go to college, I couldn’t get myself adopted—“his dad looks at him with something so close to sympathy Michael wants the knife, he wants Jesse and his hammer, “come on!”





	1. Chapter 1

The alien is massive.

He thinks nothing of slamming Jesse Manes onto the concrete like a rag doll. Alex looks away, his stomach in knots. Michael knows, okay, he knows the man is a monster. He knows he deserves everything that’s happening to him. But Michael also knows that he’s not the one responsible for the deaths. As much as he wants Jesse dead, there’s no way he’s dying for Michael’s crimes.

“I blew up Cauffield,” he says. The man’s eyes snap to him, “I triggered a failsafe, I blew it up. Not him.”

“Guerin,” Alex starts towards him but the alien is faster. His fist hits his face with a sickening crunch and spots explode in Michael’s eyes. “No!”

“Don’t!” He shouts, “I killed his people.”

“You did,” the alien snarls, “your stupidity got our people killed.”

So he knows. Michael revels in the it. The honesty, the pain, everyone keeps saying it’s not his fault but they know it is. He doesn’t try to block any of the blows the alien lands on him. Maybe if his body breaks enough he can be free of the overwhelming guilt. He lands face down like Jesse Manes and something around his sternum area gives, or maybe the wind is just knocked out. When he gets air back in his lungs, he can’t help but laugh. Dying by the people he thought would accept him, it’s got the kind of poetic justice even he can appreciate. Jesse tries to get up and the wave of energy slams him back. 

“You’re next,” the alien snarls and storms towards him. 

“Wait, wait!” Alex’s voice comes loud and desperate. Thankfully the alien does not say anything or listen. He hauls Michael up by his collar, “he’s telekinetic too!”

That makes the alien pause. 

Michael groans because he would really like to die before the pain fully hits. But he should have expected life not to give him anything. The alien looks at him and Michael wishes him fucking luck, he can’t see out of one eye. The rest of him is probably just as swollen. And Alex, fucking beautiful and brilliant and too stubborn for his own good Alex just keeps talking.

“He’s telekinetic. Someone you loved was in there too, right?” He says, “the hand transference.”

“How do you know about our ways?” The alien demands.

“I was there,” Alex says. Cop out, “please. Just—“

“Fuck it,” Michael slurs and grabs the guy’s hand. He doesn’t know what to do so he just shoves his power at him. The alien grabs the connection and manhandles it into something recognizable. 

_She’s so beautiful._

_“Not now,” she scolds, slapping his hand away._

_Love._

_There’s fire._

_Screaming._

_Terror hits him in waves as he runs. He runs and is carried at the same time. The corridor is long and terrifying but he doesn’t have a chance to trip as he’s picked up and set down in front of the pod._

_“I don’t want to go!”_

_“Listen to me, you must. For all of us. We’ll follow you,” she says, “remember the map. That’s how we’ll know.”_

_He looks at his father. Is she right? She’s crying._

_“You can do this,” he says, “there is no one I would trust more,” he looks at the royals who are trying not to cry, “we will see you. One day.”_

_“We’re so proud of you.”_

_“We love you.”_

The connection rips and the alien throws him aside. Michael laughs, because with the fragments of it he can still feel the alien’s anguish. No, not the alien. Dad. The alien is his father. His father leaves him, goes over to Jesse Manes, grabs his hand and with a sickening sound he rips it clean off. Now Jesse Manes screams. Alex’s hands are on his face and his shoulders, but even he has to turn away in disgust. Michael laughs because this is—this is too perfect. He can tell himself anything he wants about his mother. But his father is there. And coming back over.

“No, no listen—“ Alex starts to protest but the alien just nudges him aside and puts his hands on Michael. The healing hurts just as badly as being beaten up. Worse because now he can see the anguish in his father’s face. He gets to his knees and puts himself between his father and Alex, even when Alex tries to get around him, “it was an accident,” he says.

“Stop,” Michael says and turns back to his father, “do it, I killed them.” 

His father looks at him steadily and somehow this is worse. 

“Come on,” he says, “I killed mom. I killed everyone. I didn’t go to college, I couldn’t get myself adopted—“his dad looks at him with something so close to sympathy Michael wants the knife, he wants Jesse and his hammer, “come on!” 

“Michael,” his father says and something in Michael’s soul breaks.

“No, no—“ He can’t breathe, “no. Don’t—“ he needs a weapon, he needs something, “I killed mom!”

“I know.”

“But—“ He looks at him desperately, “you have to finish it. Please!”

“No,” his father says simply.

Michael lunges for him, if he won’t kill him he’ll make him. His father catches each blow and eventually Michael is trapped. The senses with his mom were dulled by what was between them, by how short it was. Here it flows over him. He smells like a dad should and the thought is so ridiculous that the emotion chokes Michael. He doesn’t understand what the noise is or where it’s coming from because he can’t move. His father has his arms wrapped around him and all Michael can do is sob. No family wanted him because he drew symbols on the walls or wasn’t Christian enough. Here he’s murdered someone and his father is holding him like he’s not the worst thing walking the earth. When he turns, Alex has put a tourniquet on Jesse and is looking away out of respect. His father turns towards Jesse. Alex says nothing. Intent is coursing off his father and Michael has one terrible and clear thought.

“Look, Hey,” he spins Alex around and grips him when he tries to twist, “look at me.”

“No,” Alex says, “I want to see this.”

“Trust me, you don’t,” Michael says, gripping him tighter and keeping their eyes locked on each other. There’s a sick sound and Alex goes pale and Michael just manages to shift his grip so he can double over and vomit. Jesse is a horrible person but that doesn’t mean Alex deserves this, “it’s—“

“He’s alive,” his father cuts in. They both turn, “he will not speak for some time, or move.”

“But—“ Michael knows his father should kill one of them, that’s how society works. How Antar justice works. But his father just gets to his feet.

“We do not kill family,” he says simply. He looks at the pair of them, Michael’s tears and Alex being sick and the look on his face is one that he’s only ever gotten from three people. “We need to go.”

“I’ll wait with him,” Alex says, pressing his keys into Michael’s hands, “go. Just—come back?”

He touches his forehead to Alex’s. He doesn’t want to go, but he knows he needs to. If he stays with this family, the other may never be there. It feels like he’s being torn in half and he can only cling to the hope one day he might be whole again. But when he pulls back he meets Alex’s eyes. 

“Yeah, of course,” Michael says, “of course.”

They get into the car and his father stares at he starts the vehicle. Michael takes one last look at what he’s leaving behind, puts the car in gear and drives into the unknown. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Prompt: Hi! I really like your writing and I was wondering if you would do a follow up for one of your stories that I read. It was about Michael's father attacking Jesse Manes, and then attacking Michael before he finds out that Michael is his son. Keep up the awesome work, your stories are what keeps me sane after that finale.

Mothers don’t last long in Roswell, Michael knows that. All too well. He also knows that most of the dads he knows are, or have been, complete monsters. He doesn’t know what to think about the man sitting next to him, completely straight backed and looking ahead. He’s still in a way Michael has never excelled at. But he looks just fucking like him.Michael doesn’t even get the luxury of a ‘what if’. He gives up finally and stops the car. The man looks at him with surprise. But there’s no anger towards him, which might be the most surprising thing of all.

“I can’t do this,” he says and gets out of the car. Is he having a heart attack? Is that what this is? He puts the car between him and his father. His father gets out slowly and Michael keeps the car in between them as he says the only thing he’s ever dreamed of saying to his father, “where the hell were you?!”

“Michael—“

“Don’t ‘Michael’ me. Where were you? Is there another prison?”

“I was locked up,” he says, “for putting you and your mother on that ship.”

“Great that’s just—“ Michael throws his hands up, “I’m two for two on getting my parents locked up. You get that right?” His father looks at him steadily and Michael wants to shake him, “I drew that map just like you told me to!”

He’s a grown man standing on the side of the road unleashing his frustration on a man he—actually he hasn’t imagined his father. Fathers are not a good thing where he comes from. Father’s leave or they do terrible things or they care just far too late. His dreams have always involved his mom coming. Maybe some part of him just assumed that his father was dead. But now he’s killed his mother and his father is standing in front of him and doesn’t hate his guts. And Michael has no idea what to do with that.

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” his father says.

“You’re sorry?” Michael repeats, “I don’t need a dad anymore!” He erupts, “I needed you years ago!”

His father doesn’t react like he’s expecting him to. It makes the tears threaten him all over again. He killed the love of this man’s life. He thinks back to Max’s anger. He thinks back to how he feels about Jesse Manes making Alex leave. He wouldn’t forgive any of them but this man, his father, just looks at him with calm and acceptance and love. Parental love. Michael’s seen parental love for about ten seconds before he blew his mom up. His jaw clenches.

“You need to get away from me,” he realizes aloud.

“Michael!”

“No, you need to go before I get you killed,” he says, “you need to get—“ he walks into what feels like a wall. Shock and outrage churn through him and he whips around, “You’re using your powers on me?!”

His father looks confused and frustrated and like that’s the most obvious thing to do here. Which, okay, maybe it is. But it’s a shock. Almost as much of a shock as realizing his father has the same god damn powers that he does. He looks like him, he has the same powers. Michael pieced that together when he met his mom, she felt so different in so many ways and the warm happiness she showed at his resemblance to his father was heartbreaking. Now he’s just stunned because that resemblance has him pinned between a man and a car. His dad and a car. And so in true self sabotaging form, Michael turns.

“I’m bisexual,” he says.

“Alright.”

“You don’t hate me because I like guys too?” Michael demands. His father frowns.

“Why would I hate you—“

“Because you should hate me! Because I hate you!” He says, “so if you leave again it’s fine because I don’t need you.”

His foot is so far down his throat at this point he’s going to be shitting his boots. Michael wants to slap himself. He’s wanted his dad for his entire life, the man is here and Michael wants nothing more than for him to go away. This is all wildly confusing. But when he tries to take a step back, the power his father is using wraps around him like a pliable wall. Michael is good at power bursts and solid barriers. This is a level of skill he doesn’t have. His father holds him in this suspended place. Michael is almost, almost grateful when Alex comes running up after them. He really thought he was farther away, but he just seems to have gotten far enough for Alex to be mildly inconvenienced. His dad and Alex. All he needs is for Max to come out here and it can be the trifecta of the most important men in his life.

“What are you doing here?” He demands.

“I followed you,” Alex says, he looks between them, obviously confused. Alex is all about the mission after all, but Michael doesn’t feel comfortable all of a sudden.

“This is the boy you love?” His father asks.

Michael wonders how this is happening. It’s not enough that he has a father who is nice and understanding and a complete badass. But he’s also apparently now revealing Michael’s secrets. He loves Alex, Alex knows he loves him but no one actually says those words. Except, apparently, Michael’s long lost father. Something shows on his face because his father softens even more. Like Michael is a kid whose upset about something and still manages to be adorable. Alex covers the shock and walks over towards Michael’s father. Before he can introduce himself, Michael smacks a hand out and grabs Alex’s shoulder.   
  
“Don’t,” he says. Alex looks confused, “don’t charm him,” he looks over at his father, “and stop revealing things you saw in my mind,” and then back to Alex, “shouldn’t you be with your dad?”

“Why?” Alex says and then shrugs Michael off and goes over to his dad anyway, “I’m Alex,” he says offering a hand.

“I am Rath,” Michael’s father says, gripping it back.

Michael barely surpasses the urge to whine his father’s name. Somehow Michael has managed to piss Jesse Manes off enough to break his hand with a hammer. It takes zero brainpower to see that his father likes Alex. Both his parents liked Alex. Objectively, Michael gets it. But a part of him wishes that he was as good at getting Alex’s parents to like him. Then again, Alex’s parents don’t seem to like Alex so maybe there’s really no accounting for taste.

“Can we focus?” Michael says, drawing them both back to him, “you need a place to hide.”

“Do you have papers?” Alex asks. Michael’s father shakes his head, “I can take care of that.”

“Let me handle the illegal things,” Michael breaks in. Alex glares at him.

“Do you know someone who can create an identity?” He questions. Michael clamps his mouth shut, “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” Rath says.

“Oh you’re on his side?” Michael challenges.

“We’re all on the same side, Guerin,” Alex says.

“I’m talking to my father,” Michael snaps.

Alex looks surprised and then nods because of course Alex knows what a big deal that is to him. He even walks over to the car like that’s not within earshot. Michael turns like that will help anything and his father turns with him.

“Take a deep breath and count to five,” he says under his breath. Michael looks up at him, “he reminds me of your mother.”

Michael chokes on the air .

“You won’t win every argument,” his father continues, “so take a deep breath, count to five and decide if this is one you want to do.”

He’s figured out his resemblance to his father, but hearing that Alex resembles his mother is something he’s not ready for. He’s not ready to actually see that he has something in common with this stranger, this man who he’s longed for his entire life. He feels shell shocked at the words, even as he glances back at Alex whose pretending to be interested in his own car.

“I could,” Michael says, “win every argument.”

His father smiles, something wistful and longing and amused. Something that Michael will always remember when he thinks of love. He clasps Michael on the shoulder and though it jolts, Michael’s doesn’t shrug him off.

“No, son, you can’t.”


End file.
